photoartflightOsprey Fly-By
Posted on January 31, 2014
This Osprey was roosting in the trees nearby and then flew off to look for its meal. This time the Osprey flew towards me which gave me an opportunity to get a few shots before it got out of range to photograph. After it went “fishing”, it came back and landed back in the trees to have its meal.
Going Out for Lunch
Canon EOS 1D MkIV, Canon 400mm DO f/4 IS, Canon 1.4X Teleconverter, Handheld, f/10, 1/2000 sec, ISO 1250, +1 Exposure Compensation
Lunch Served
Canon EOS 1D MkIV, Canon 400mm DO f/4 IS, Canon 1.4X Teleconverter, Handheld, f/10, 1/2500 sec, ISO 1250, +0.67 Exposure Compensation
Uh-Oh!
Posted on January 30, 2014
This Great Egret caught his morning meal. The fish just seemed to have a look of surprise or maybe it was the look of the coming doom. It took quite awhile for the Egret to finish its meal and seemed to have difficulty swallowing it down. It kept flipping it in the air and catching it again, maybe for a better position for swallowing the fish. This was early in the morning and still a little dark. I pushed the ISO to 2000, which is about as far as I like to go on a Canon MkIV for noise, and still try to stop the motion of the Egret shaking its prey. I removed as much noise as I thought possible in Adobe Camera Raw. Using a 1.4X teleconverter gave me an f/stop of 5.6, so I added 1 more stop to help give a little more sharpness. I usually do not like using a 1.4X teleconverter wide open, so being “Old School” I used f/8 for a slight increase in sharpness because of the Teleconverter.
Two Mouths
Canon EOS 1D MkIV, Canon 400mm DO f/4 IS, Canon 1.4X Teleconverter, f/8, 1/250 sec, ISO 2000
Eye to Eye
Canon EOS 1D MkIV, Canon 400mm DO f/4 IS, Canon 1.4X Teleconverter, f/8, 1/320 sec, ISO 2000
Sunset Landing
Posted on January 28, 2014
This American White Pelican flew in to the group at the end of the day. The warm light of the setting sun added color and warmth to the photo. I liked the warm glow through the feathers in the wing giving giving added detail to the feathers.
Clapper Rail
Posted on January 27, 2014
While I photographing a group of birds out in the water, out of the corner of my eye I noticed something moving on the shoreline by the Mangrove roots. I saw this Clapper Rail dart out in the open and look around. I managed to get a couple of quick shots before it disappeared back into the dense roots and vegetation. It was there so briefly and then disappeared that I originally thought it was a Sora. It was not until I was working on my files that I saw it was a Rail and was happy with the few shots that I managed to get.
Clapper Rail
Caon EOS 1D MkIV, Canon 400mm DO f/4 IS lens, Canon 1.4X teleconverter, f/11, 1/800 sec, ISO 400
Great Egret – Shy, Bad Feather Day or Just Wet from the Rain?
Posted on January 26, 2014
Found this Great Egret along the Rookery at the St. Augustine Alligator Farm. The Rookery at the St. Augustine Alligator Farm is a great place to get closeup shots of wild birds in their natural habitat. The alligators are below the boardwalk, a lot of birds build nests right above the board walk in the surrounding trees, because they feel safe from predators. I saw about 20 nesting in one tree alone. The only problem they have is the occasional meal they provide the alligators if they are too close on the ground. The best times are early in the morning before they fly out or later in the day when they come back to roost. Sometimes the nests are so close you can get great shots with even a 200mm lens. We were trying to get there on our way home, but got delayed and did not get there until they were almost closing. It also started to lightly rain and got darker. We went in anyway and I got quite a few interesting shots, even with the lack of light, gray skies and the rain. I used a high ISO and opened up the lens to help stop the action, ( More my movement from handholding the camera on the gray day, The Egret was standing very still).
Egret Eye Closeup
Canon EOS 1D MkIV, Canon 400mm DO f/4 lens, f/4.5, 1/640 sec, ISO 1600
Egret Closeup
Canon EOS 1D MkIV, Canon 400mm DO f/4 lens, f/4.5, 1/640 sec, ISO 1600
Egret Portrait
Canon EOS 1D MkIV, Canon 400mm DO f/4 lens, f/4.5, 1/640 sec, ISO 1600
Tricolored Heron Hunting
Posted on January 26, 2014
Northern NJ got another snow storm and frigid below normal temperatures, so I thought I would warm up by going through more of my photos from our trip to Florida. This Tricolored Heron was hunting along an inlet that I was walking along. They were formerly called the Louisiana Heron and are a medium sized Heron, smaller than a Great Blue, but larger than the Night Herons. This one was concentrated on walking along the shore giving me an opportunity to get many shots as it walked towards me and then away from me. On the header photo, even at 1/400 sec, I got a little motion blur on the left leg. I still liked the photo though, it gave it a little sense of movement and the bubbles coming up with the rest sharp so it looked a little less static.
Tricolored Heron Taking Wide Strides
Canon EOS 1D MkIV, Canon 400mm DO f/4 lens, Canon 1.4X Teleconverter, f/11, 1/400 sec, ISP 1250, -0.33 exposure compensation
Yellow-crowned Night-heron
Posted on January 23, 2014
I found this Yellow-crowned Night-Heron in the shade on the roots of Mangrove trees. It did not seem to be bothered by my presence so I was able to get a few shots and then moved on so I did not bother the heron. Because it was sitting in the shade I used a -1 exposure compensation with aperture priority to get a proper exposure for the light colored bird in the dark shade. I also used ISO 1250 because I was handholding the camera and wanted a higher shutter speed. Even though it is a stabilized lens, with a 1.4X teleconverter, I wanted the higher shutter speed since the 400mm, with the 1.4X teleconverter and the 1.3X crop factor equals an effective focal length of 728mm.
Great White Egret Swarmed by Gulls
Posted on January 22, 2014
This Egret had just caught a meal and was quickly swarmed by gulls trying to steal its dinner. The Egret kept moving ahead trying to finish the meal but the Gulls kept circling and buzzing him. He eventually got to finish but was continually interrupted. I just thought it was interesting to watch the interaction between the Egret & Gulls.
Great Egret trying to evade the Gulls
Canon EOS 1D MkIV, Canon 400mm DO f/4, Canon 1.4X Series II Teleconverter, f/7.1, 1/5000 sec, ISO 1250, +0.33 Exposure Compensation
Great Egret with other Egrets & Ibises, Trying to Finish its Catch
Canon EOS 1D MkIV, Canon 400mm DO f/4, Canon 1.4X Series II Teleconverter, f/7.1, 1/5000 sec, ISO 1250, +0.33 Exposure Compensation
Great Egret trying to move away from the Gulls with its meal
Canon EOS 1D MkIV, Canon 400mm DO f/4, Canon 1.4X Series II Teleconverter, f/7.1, 1/4000 sec, ISO 1250, +0.33 Exposure Compensation
Great Egret Still Dodging the Gulls
Canon EOS 1D MkIV, Canon 400mm DO f/4, Canon 1.4X Series II Teleconverter, f/7.1, 1/4000 sec, ISO 1250, +0.33 Exposure Compensation
Great Egret with Gulls Trying to Steal its Meal
Canon EOS 1D MkIV, Canon 400mm DO f/4, Canon 1.4X Series II Teleconverter, f/7.1, 1/4000 sec, ISO 1250, +0.33 Exposure Compensation
White Ibis Portrait
Posted on January 21, 2014
This White Ibis was feeding along the shoreline. The Ibis kept coming closer until it was getting too close to even focus on. I got quite a few shots but I liked the portrait head shot. I especially liked the intensity of the eye and the prominent distinctive shape of the Ibis beak.
White Ibis Working the Shoreline Closeup
Canon EOS1D MkIV, Sigma 300-800mm DG f/5.6 lens, f/8, 1/800 sec, ISO 640
White Ibis Closeup showing the Distinctive beak, legs & feet
Canon EOS1D MkIV, Sigma 300-800mm DG f/5.6 lens, f/8, 1/800 sec, ISO 640
White Ibis Closeup
Canon EOS1D MkIV, Canon 400mm DO f/4, Canon 1.4X Series III Teleconverter, total 560mm
f/11, 1/400 sec, ISO 400
RED-BREASTED MERGANSER
Posted on January 14, 2014
We saw quite a few Red-breasted Mergansers in with the Pelicans, Roseate Spoonbills and Cormorants. They were spending a lot of time diving looking for a meal, scooting around through the other wading birds in the water. This one came on shore after it was done diving around for 20 minutes and was flapping its wings to dry off.
Red-Breasted Merganser
Canon EOS 1D-MkIV, Canon 400 f/4 DO, Canon 1.4X Teleconverter, f/7.1, 1/1250, ISO 1250, +0.33 exposure compensation
Red-Breasted Merganser Scooting and Diving around a Reddish Egret while the Egret was hunting.
Canon EOS 1D-MkIV, Canon 400 f/4 DO, Canon 1.4X Teleconverter, f/7.1, 1/1600 sec, ISO 1250
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